Section one: Elections Q&A
Section two: Contest for the loyalist heart of Bahrain
Click on the following links for Citizens for Bahrain’s definitive guide to all 40 constituencies and all 266 candidates: Capital Governorate; Muharraq Governorate; Northern Governorate; Southern Governorate
Bahrain 2014 parliamentary elections Q&A
On 22 November 2014 Bahrainis will go to the polls to elect parliamentary candidates. Candidate registration ended on 19 October, leaving candidates one month to win over voters and explain what they stand for.
Five reasons why these are the most exciting Bahraini elections ever
The unprecedented number of candidates: 266 candidates (419, including the municipal candidates) competing in 40 districts. In several districts there are between 10 and 15 rivals; making second-round run-offs a certainty. Nearly half the constituencies have no standing MP contesting the vote, which leaves the field wide open for new candidates.
A dramatic shake-op of constituency borders affecting almost every electoral district makes the voting results very difficult to call; with altered political demographics and new combinations of contestants facing each other.
The Al-Wefaq boycott has attracted a lot of new candidates in historically pro-opposition constituencies, defying the boycott and looking to fill the vacuum that Al-Wefaq has left. There are 22 female candidates.
The partially unsuccessful attempts between Sunni groupings to create a fully unified electoral list has allowed for a number of dramatic head-to-head battles between societies like Al-Asalah, Al-Minbar and the NUG (National Unity Gathering).
The fore-mentioned constituency changes have in some cases left multiple standing MPs stranded within the same constituency. Some figures changed their electoral address to avoid a stronger opponent, some dropped out altogether and some – like Hassan Bukhamas and Abdulrahman Bumajid in the 4th Capital district – chose to fight it out.
How many seats are being contested?
There are 40 seats being contested for 40 electoral constituencies in a first-past-the-post system. For this purpose, Bahrain is divided into four governorates: Capital, Northern, Southern and the island of Muharraq. The fifth Central Governorate was recently abolished and incorporated into the other regions.
How often do elections take place?
Elections take place every four years. The 2002 Parliamentary elections were the first under Bahrain’s new constitution. There have been elections in 2006 and 2010; with a major by-election in later 2011 following the walkout of the 18 Al-Wefaq MPs.
Municipal Council elections usually coincide with the parliamentary elections, meaning that voters are electing two sets of candidates.
Why are there two rounds of voting?
If no candidate in a constituency wins more than 50% of the valid votes then the two highest polling candidates go to a second round; with the winner in the second round run-off gaining the parliamentary seat.
Which are the key groupings?
A significant proportion of MPs in Parliament have tended to be independents. The law concerning political associations, drafted in 2005, is the framework for regulating political societies.
There are several political blocs to take account of. In the 2006 and 2010 elections the Shia opposition society Al-Wefaq won around 17-18 seats, making it the largest political society at that time. However, since 2011 Al-Wefaq has chosen to boycott Parliament.
The numerous Sunni/loyalist groupings have likewise tried to unite their voting strategy within the Al-Fateh Coalition (including Al-Minbar al-Islami, the National Unity Gathering and Al-Mithaq). However, after weeks of negotiations, the various political groupings failed to agree on a fully-unified list, meaning that multiple Al-Fateh societies are competing against each other in two constituencies (10th Northern and 1st Southern). Al-Fateh is now competing on a unified list in 12 constituencies.
The Salafist society, Al-Asalah remained separate from these negotiations and is to contest against Al-Fateh candidates in three constituencies (7th Muharraq, 10th Northern and 1st Southern), while the Al-Wasat Society froze its membership of Al-Fateh during these negotiations and its secretary-general, Ahmad al-Binali is to contest against Al-Asalah in 3rd Muharraq.
Other smaller political societies like the liberal Al-Watan society, Al-Saff, Al-Rabitah and the “Free Nationalists are only contesting one or two seats.
Will we see new faces in the next Parliament?
Definitely. Only 22 of the 40 constituencies have incumbent MPs contesting to regain their seat. A number of these came in with a relatively small mandate in the 2011 by-election, leaving several contestants who are highly likely to be displaced by more-vigourously campaigning rivals.
However, there are also a handful of MPs who are almost guaranteed to regain their seats. It wouldn’t be surprising if only around 15 current MPs returned to Parliament. This means that two-thirds of the new assembly would be made up of new faces.
What are the main issues concerning voters?
Housing and employment, as well as provision of public services are big issues that concern voters. Candidates have also prioritized “increasing wages”, costs of living, economic growth, unemployment and fighting corruption in their campaign pledges. Many candidates also speak about the importance of promoting stability and national unity.
Why all the fuss about election boundaries?
Substantial variations in the size of numerous constituencies has been a contentious issue for many years. This September major revisions were made to the constituency borders, affecting 80% of electoral districts and with the result that 90% of these constituencies are now of a comparable size.
In some cases these changes have resulted in multiple sitting MPs competing against each other, and these radical changes make the results of these elections very difficult to predict.
What about the boycott?
Al-Wefaq and a handful of opposition groups have decided to boycott these elections, even after intensive efforts through the Dialogue process to try and attract these groupings back into Parliament.
The electoral boundary changes, which create more evenly-sized districts, caused many opposition figures to argue in favour of inclusion. However, ultimately the hardliners won the argument to boycott.
However, Parliament has functioned adequately since 2011 without these societies, so one could argue that the net losers are those who are boycotting and the constituencies they represent.
Which constituencies are the most hotly contested?
Many of the central areas of Bahrain around Hamad Town and Isa Town and to the south of Manama are worth watching. These areas have a diverse population, which has often favoured liberal and middle-ground politicians. There are several women contesting these seats.
Several areas of the Capital also have very mixed populations, like the 2nd, 5th 9th & 10th districts, which will make for exciting competition.
The Al-Wefaq boycott has paved the way for lesser-known candidates to get voted in with a smaller share of the vote, so the competition can be unpredictable.
Approximately 300 candidates have registered for the parliamentary elections, which is around double the registration rate in previous years, indicating that competition will be tough. Many constituencies have between ten and 16 candidates standing.
The high proportion of Bahrainis who turn out to vote – 73% in 2006 – is also testament to the credibility and competitiveness of these elections.
Who can be an MP?
Candidates must be Bahraini nationals, enjoying all civic and political rights and registered in their respective constituencies. The candidate had also to be aged 30 or over and be able to read and write Arabic.
Are women likely to win seats?
There are currently four female MPs (15 across both houses of Parliament) and several women have stood as candidates in each of Bahrain’s elections contests.
There are 22 female candidates standing for elections across the four governorates, with several figures like Lulwa al-Mutlaq, Zainab Abdulamir and Fawzia Zainal likely to do well.
The Islamic political parties haven’t tended to field female candidates – although the NUG has nominated Jehan Mohammed in the 1st Southern district and Sima al-Lengawi in the 10 Northern district – so in general women have stood as independents.
In the past, the Salafi society Al-Asalah has actively opposed female candidacy, while the pro-Muslim Brotherhood Al-Minbar has stated that it does not object in principle to female candidates, but would not field any itself.
When were the last elections and what happened?
The last full elections were in 2010. Sixty-seven percent of Bahrainis participated, with 127 candidates competing for 40 seats, including seven women.
The Sunni parties – Al-Minbar and Al-Asalah performed poorly, gaining only five seats between them, while left-wing and liberal candidates hardly got a look-in. So a high proportion of the vote went to independent figures. Meanwhile Shia opposition society, Al-Wefaq won 18 seats.
However, when Al-Wefaq walked out of Parliament in February 2011 this necessitated a by-election in their 18 constituencies, which brought many new independent faces representing predominantly Shia and opposition communities into the Parliament.
Which constituencies are the most hotly contested?
In the 2010 elections the two major Sunni parties largely lost out to independents. Sunni figures have been very visible and vocal since the 2011 unrest, so will be hoping to convert this into increased votes within the context of the Al-Fateh Coalition which has candidates running in around 15 districts.
The radical constituency border changes left many districts with a very different demographic, particularly in the central areas. Many of these constituencies no longer have a sitting MP within their borders. The result is that the winner of these areas will be very difficult to predict and this unclear situation has attracted long lists of candidates to try their luck. It is likely that a higher proportion than ever of electoral districts will require a second round to decide the winner.
In some cases the border changes have resulted in more than one sitting MP being thrown together in the same electoral district. Many MPs in such a situation have withdrawn from the competition in favour of a stronger candidate, but in a few cases this has produced an exciting head-to-head battle, such as the 4th Capital district where MPs Hassan Eid Bukhamas and Abdulrahman Bumajid are to compete.
There will be a lot of interest in how moderate independent MPs fare vis-à-vis these Islamic parties, how women candidates perform and whether incumbent MPs manage to hold onto their seats in some of these hotly-contested areas.
What can we expect to happen in the Shia-majority constituencies if Al-Wefaq boycotts the vote?
The fact that Al-Wefaq and their supporters are boycotting opens the field up to a range of figures who chose to stand as independents. In the affected constituencies it is often liberal Shia figures who put themselves forward, but the fact that someone can get voted in on a relatively small number of votes in some of these constituencies can make for some surprise results.
Surprisingly, some of the areas where the boycott has received most support also have some of the longest lists of candidates.
Can we expect these elections to be free and fair?
Previous rounds of elections have witnessed very vigorous and enthusiastic participation by citizens. Prior to the boycott participation in elections ran at around 65-75%. There is monitoring of the vote in the various constituencies, both by independent monitors, electoral officials and representatives of the respective political parties.
Eight civil society groups will be monitoring the elections, including 301 monitors to cover the voting centres in the four governorates.
Principles of Human Rights Society
Dialogue (Hiwar) Society
Bahrain Public Relations Society
Bahrain Society for Monitoring Human Rights
Dignity (Karamah) Society
The Bahrain Society for Developing Small & Medium-Sized Institutions
Bahraini Transparency Society
Bahrain Society for Human Rights Advocates (Huquqieen)
The Bahrain Higher Committee for Overseeing the Integrity of the Elections has set out a number of stringent rules for who can qualify as an elections monitor, such as having no associations with any of the candidates or political societies competing in the elections.
Independent bodies such as the National Democratic Institute have reported previous rounds of elections as being “well administered” and “smooth” with “no apparent evidence of fraud”
The 2010 elections included over 100 international media representatives and independent organizations like the Bahrain Transparency Society; alongside around 380 Bahraini monitors.
In comparison with 2006, the 2010 elections were somewhat more tense, with a number of militant groups trying to encourage a boycott in certain communities. However, attendance was still relatively high at around 67% around the country.
Given Bahrain’s relatively tiny size, any kind of irregularities are quickly brought to light and there is invariably a high level of public and media debate about the elections process itself and the outcomes, which is very healthy for the democratization process in Bahrain.
Already there have been a number of complaints raised about MPs who started promoting themselves before the deadline and about figures using Mosque sermons to influence the elections. The Elections Committee is investigating these and other issues.
How long has there been an elected Parliament in Bahrain?
Besides the short-lived 1973 Peoples Assembly; the democratization process really got going in Bahrain with King Hamad’s new Constitution, the National Action Charter, which was enshrined into law after a popular referendum in 2001-2002.
Therefore there have been three major rounds of parliamentary elections in Bahrain in 2002, 2006 and 2010.
Why does Bahrain need two houses of Parliament?
In the 1973 National Assembly there was just a single house of Parliament made up of elected figures and appointees. In the late 1990s Bahrain just had an appointed Shura Council. The post-2001 two-house system works well for Bahrain because it combines a system of elected representation with checks and balances to ensure legislation doesn’t penalize those who aren’t adequately represented.
For example, the combined seats of both Shia and Sunni Islamic parties tend to give Islamists a natural majority; so an appointed House which represents other faiths and segments of society is a check against Islamicization of legislation.
What powers do MPs have?
The 2012 constitutional amendments give MPs additional powers for summoning MPs for questioning and voting against new laws proposed by the Government, as well as the prospect of a no confidence vote against Government ministers.
MPs can produce their own proposed legislation. However, this can be challenged by the Shura Council. Recent controversial pieces of legislation have concerned further restricting the sale of alcohol and pork and a proposal to ban non-Bahraini residents from driving.
Don’t some people say this Parliament doesn’t have any real powers?
The opposition frequently claims that elected MPs do not have enough power. However, firstly it is right that there be a balance of powers between the two houses of Parliament, the Cabinet and the judiciary; and secondly, the opposition by continuing its boycott has failed to return to Parliament to test out the significance of the additional powers brought about by the 2012 Constitutional Amendments.
Contest for the loyalist heart of Bahrain
The constituencies centred around Riffa are predominantly Sunni, staunchly loyalist and have traditionally preferred independent candidates. However, two strong candidates for the Salafist Al-Asalah society are also favourites to win in this area.
An older generation of voters can be expected to support establishment figures who espouse unwavering support for the Monarchy and Islamic values. However, candidates will also have to reach out to a younger generation who want to see MPs who reflect their interests and can be seen to deliver tangible results.
Asalah, in the three Southern constituencies they are contesting (1st, 3rd & 5th Southern) are fighting a vigourous campaign. Their campaign posters are often the most visible and these candidates have been pushing their strong record of service as municipal councilors and deputies.
In the 3rd Southern district the incumbent Al-Asalah candidate Abdulhalim Murad will be tough to displace. He enjoys widespread public support and as one of Bahrain’s longest-serving MPs he tends to dominate the media coverage.
Younger candidates like Hasan al-Ali are trying hard to engage the youth vote and other candidates are seeking to entice voters through focusing on standards of living and the ever-present housing issue.
The 4th Southern district is a mixed – opposition/loyalist Sunni/Shia – constituency which will make the results very interesting, particularly as this constituency is another product of boundary changes and the abolition of the Central Governorate.
Hashim al-Madani who represented Al-Minbar Society had his candidacy disallowed after a rival, Al-Maarifi, submitted evidence that Al-Madani’s legal address wasn’t in the constituency. Al-Madani’s exclusion left Al-Maarifi as by far the most visible candidate who is said to enjoy widespread support.
However, candidates like Ashraf al-Assar and Nabil al Musaifar have been trying to gain ground on Al-Maarifi; and figures like Ibrahim al-Mannai and Abdulhamid al-Shaikh have been seeking to rival Al-Maarifi in the battle of the billboards.
Boundary changes for the recently-expanded 5th Southern district mean that previous assumptions about favoured candidates in this area don’t necessarily apply. The battle will be between the representative for the Sunni Asalah Society and a few independent candidates. Asalah’s Abdulrazzaq al-Hattab, as former head of the Municipal Council is seen as the most likely winner of this contest.
However, women’s activist Fawzia Zaynal is also a popular figure who has a proven public following after contesting several rounds of parliamentary elections. Her campaigning experience has shown through, with her gaining a lot of media coverage for her campaign. Nayef al-Jassim has emerged as the candidate seeking to gain the votes of young people.
One of the big stories of the elections was the announcement of Khalifa al-Dhahraini, head of the previous Parliament, that he wouldn’t be standing in his 6th Southern constituency. Al-Dhahrani had been one of Bahrain’s most-long serving and highly respected MPs. His non-appearance opens up the field for a broad group of untested candidates.
The most prominent figure in 6th Southern is Mohammed al-Buainain, head of the Mithaq Society, which is part of the loyalist Al-Fateh Coalition. However there are numerous other independent figures, including local cleric Anis Buhindi and a female “Free Nationalist” Society representative jostling for attention. After a quieter start to their campaigns, Nawal al-Dossary, Yousif al-Hamdan and Ibrahim Fakhro were among the first to open their campaign tents to the public.
The 7th Southern district is one of the more diverse areas in southern Bahrain. It is effectively a new constituency, given the extent of the new borders, which encompass Sunni Riffa and Shia Nuwaidrat. This area is known for its tribal ties and these candidates hail from the Sunni Dossary and Al Marra tribal families.
Three independent candidates looking to displace the incumbent MP Abdullah Bin-Huwail, who had previously headed the “Independents Bloc” in the Parliament. Candidate Anwar al-Mohammed succeeded in getting the courts to remove prominent rival Sharikh al-Dossary from the contest, because he held both a Saudi and Bahraini passport.
3rd Southern
Areas covered: North Riffa, Hajiat
Number of candidates: 6
Registered voters: 7,227
Abdulhalim Abdulaziz Ahmed Murad – Asalah Incumbent
Murad, a prominent local cleric and one of Al-Asalah’s best-known public faces, will be fighting hard to retain his seat.
Abdulhalim Murad has been in the Parliament since 2006. Murad’s campaign so far has emphasized a strong record of raising issues in Parliament, challenging the Government on budgetary issues and defending local interests. @Murad_bh
Hassan Mohammed Hassan Mohammed al-Ali
Al-Ali has pledged to be a “voice representing the youth and their aspirations”. “We young people are capable of undertaking the responsibility of promoting the ideas and acts of the youth in order to maximize the national good”; Al-Ali told Al-Ayam newspaper. He said that his campaign centred around “implementing” the King’s economic “Vision 2030” initiative.
Al-Ali has pledged to promote the idea of a Youth Parliament if he wins the candidacy.
Mohammed Matar Khalifa al-Maloud
Al-Maloud said that he would put forward a number of solutions for addressing the housing issue and improving the position of families of limited income. He said he wanted to learn lessons from “developed nations” for putting forward creative solutions to these challenges.
Dr. Mohammed Yousif Ahmed Rashid al-Housani
Al-Housani is a member of the pro-Muslim Brotherhood Al-Minbar al-Islami, but is to stand as an independent candidate. He has stressed that he will focus on “improving the lives of citizens and strengthening their sense of belonging to the nation and their loyalty to the leadership”. @M_alhosany
Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah Ahmed al-Hajji
Al-Hajji said in a statement that “change” can be achieved through widespread voter participation in order to move the nation forwards.
Al-Hajji’s campaign slogan: “Partners for change”.
Naji Saad Dhafir Ali al-Dossary
Campaign slogan: “Only you possess the desire for change, so you must choose.” After a slow start, Naji is emerging as a serious candidate and has been among the first to open his campaign tent to the public. @Naji_Aldoseri
4th Southern
Areas covered: Nuwaidrat, Sanad, Hajiat
Number of candidates: 7
Registered voters: 8,589
Mohammed Yousif Mohammed al-Maarifi
Al-Maarifi had been tipped to be representing the National Unity Gathering. However, after not being included on their final list he is running as an independent. He has been one of the more visible figures since early on in the contest.
Al-Maarifi told Al-Watan newspaper that he was working with a “team of experts and specialists to prepare a time-based plan to solve the housing crisis” in his constituency. Businessman Al-Maarifi has stressed the importance of economic experts in the coming Parliament in order to promote economic growth and address the challenges the country faces.
Al-Marifi came third in the 2010 elections with 610 votes.
Nabil Mohammed Salim Hamad Mohammed al-Musaifar
Lawyer Al-Musaifar said he wanted to play a role in raising standards of living. He urged Bahrainis to come out in large numbers to vote. Al-Musaifar has accused the municipal candidate Yousef al-Sibbagh of “monopolizing” Al-Musaifar’s campaign site.
Ashraf Rizq Ismail al-Assar
Al-Assar has stressed the importance of “pumping youthful blood” into the Bahraini Parliament. He told voters to ask themselves what they had gained from their elected deputies since 2002 – and then vote for the most suitable figure.
Al-Assar explained why he was highlighting “the citizen” as the centre of his electoral platform, saying: “The citizen is the focus of developmental policies and the primary motivator of these”. @alassar_ashraf
Ibrahim Ahmed Saleh Ahmed al-Mannai
Al-Mannai has pledged to use his skills and experience to “achieve the demands” of local people. @ebrahimalmannai
Faisal Ibrahim Jabbarah al-Bufalah
Faisal told the media that he wants to focus on reducing prices of certain basic goods and increasing wages.
Abdulrahman Abdulkarim Abdulrahman Akhund
Abdulkarim has called for unity and solidarity around the elections process; avoiding partisanship: “We are all competing for the public good, not for personal ends”.
Abdulhamid Ali Yousif Sulaiman al-Shaikh
Promotional slogan: “I’ll be honoured to serve you, for building a better future”.
5th Southern
Areas covered: West Riffa, Haniniyah, Bukuwarah
Number of candidates: 6
Registered voters: 8,788
Abdulrazzaq Abdullah Ali al-Hattab – Asalah
Sunni cleric Al-Hattab, who is standing as a representative for the Salafist Al-Asalah Society, has been the municipal councilor in the Central Governorate for two terms. As head of the municipal council during his second term, he told Al-Watan newspaper that his service gave him valuable experience in liaising with government departments and understanding how they worked”.
Al-Hattab has promised to resubmit a housing strategy formerly proposed by Asalah MPs, which he said aimed to deal with this issue “holistically”; raising the wage levels of those who could benefit from housing in order to take account of inflation and rising costs of living.
*Fawzia Abdullah Yousif Zainal
Fawzia, a women’s activist, has contested three rounds of parliamentary elections without yet winning a seat.
During statements made in October Fawzia said that her campaign platform would focus on women and improving their living conditions, particularly divorced women or those bringing up families. Fawzia says that housing is also one of her priorities, as well as addressing unemployment and fighting corruption.
Fawzia stressed the need for “fundamental solutions to the issue of unemployment, supporting pensioners and improving living conditions, especially for divorced women and children”.
However, in media comments made in November, Fawzia said that she put “legal protection for security men and improving their situation” at the top of her priorities.
Fawzia came second in the 2006 elections with a respectable 2,283 votes. @fawziazainal5
Nayef Mohammed Abdulrahman Mohammed al-Jassim
Al-Jassim said he had put together a “youth bloc” to contest the elections to “prevent the political and religious societies from dominating the assemblies”, calling on people to “free themselves from the dominance of these societies”.
Al-Jassim: “I will enter Parliament with the ideas of the youth in order to change the status quo between deputy and electorate… I have entered the elections to facilitate greater boldness among young people for taking this step.”
Adel Ali Mohammed Faris al-Rowaei
Al-Rowaei was formerly associated with Al-Minbar and he had formerly contested the municipal elections. He expressed his desire to work to improve standards of living for the more vulnerable sections of society.
Mohammed Abdulwahid Jassim Hassan Qarratah
So far Mohammed Qarratah hasn’t had anything like the sort of media coverage obtained by his rivals.
Khalifa Abdullah Mohammed al-Ghanim
Khalifa al-Ghanim has received no media coverage so far.
6th Southern
Areas covered: Northern Riffa, Bukuwarah
Number of candidates: 9
Registered voters: 8,262
Mohammed Shaheen Tawq al-Buainain – Mithaq
Al-Buainain is Secretary-General of Al-Mithaq al-Amal al-Watani (National Action Charter) Society. He appears to have delayed his candidacy until the last minute to ensure Al-Dhahrani wasn’t standing.
Al-Buaynayn has called for head-to-head contests between elections contestants to help voters reach their decision.
*Layla Rajab Zayid Omar – Al-Watani al-Hurr
Rajab said that three candidates were associated with her “Free Nationalist” society. In comments to Al-Ayam, Rajab rejected spending excessive money on election campaigns, saying that such money should be donated to better causes. Rajab is competing for the third time, having lost previously to the influential Khalifa al-Dhahrani, head of the last Parliament.
Abdullah Abdulrahman Baqer Mohammed
Baqer told Al-Ayam newspaper: “Previous deputies have played their role, but the coming Parliament must do more to improve standards of living, which have become very difficult”. Baqer said that he didn’t want to be associated with any political grouping, but desired to “put forward the aspirations of citizens with complete independence”.
Anis Ali Ali Saif Buhindi
Shaikh Anis Buhindi is a prominent local cleric and could well turn out to be one of the stronger-performing candidates. He said the housing file needed a “complete strategic overhaul” in the coming Parliament and observed that the legislative and executive bodies should work more effectively together.
Buhindi also talked about raising standards of living, fighting corruption and promoting the economy. @AnasBuhendi
Dr. Salah Ahmed Khalifa Mohammed
Dr Khalifa: Bahrain’s youth are the key to solving the many problems that we suffer from. They can become a positive force if we encourage them to take responsibility”.
Khalifa – Chairman of the Bahrain Technological Institute – promised to use his position within civil society to encourage the participation of local societies in projects to promote growth and education.
Dr. Khalifa: “I was encouraged by many people to participate, as they believe I am the right man for the job.” Dr. Salah said he had intended to stand irrespective of whether Al-Dhahrani was participating.
*Nawal Ahmed Saqer Ahmed al-Dossary
Nawal has been active in calling for wider participation in the elections. Her campaign has talked about “uniting politics and the economy” in order that one supports the other. @nawalaldossari4
Yousif Ahmed Ali al-Hamdan
Al-Hamdan said that he chose to contest the elections because Parliament was “lacking in intellectuals… those who possess a holistic vision of life”. He said he would prioritize “standards of living and the fate of future generations”
Journalist Al-Hamdan said it was his “dream and aim” to make it to Parliament, while acknowledging the strength of the competition in his constituency.
At the public opening of his elections HQ Al-Hamdan stressed the importance of the parliamentary role of monitoring the business of government, emphasizing how vital this work was for ensuring transparent, effective and representative government.
Ibrahim Abdulrahman Abdulrahman Fakhro
Campaign slogans: “Together we’ll complete the path of progress and development”; “With your vote we’ll achieve change”.
After a low key start to his campaign Fakhro told the 200-300 attendees at opening of his HQ that he planned to establish a local committee which would convene daily to hear the concerns of local constituents. He said that his primary priority was increasing standards of living and gave particular attention to the improvement of health services.
Khalifa Ahmed Nasir al-Dossary
Al-Dossary has yet to come out and achieve a profile with the media.
7th Southern
Areas covered: Nuwaidrat, West Riffa, Rawdhah
Number of candidates: 3
Registered voters: 8,304
Abdullah Ali Jabir Bin-Huwail – Incumbent
Bin-Huwail: The boycott has failed. The nation is ready to participate and decide its own destiny”. He said that he had decided to be independent because “the independent bloc has proved its role in advancing numerous issues in the 2010 Parliament”.
Ahmed Faisal Jabr al-Dossary
Al-Dossary appears to have been active promoting himself through supporters online and in organizing local gatherings to widen his support base. @Ahmedaldoseri
Anwar Lats Khidhr al-Mohammed
Anwar’s promotional material has featured the slogan “We’ll progress through you”.